


a soulmate who is meant to be

by starrykai



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Whipped Choi Soobin, he's always whipped for hyuka tbh, idk what im doing, joseon era, what's new?!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22932184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrykai/pseuds/starrykai
Summary: in which huening kai finds a journal that belonged to a prince from centuries ago.
Relationships: Choi Soobin/Huening Kai
Comments: 16
Kudos: 57





	1. an old journal.

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic of txt! yeeeeeeehet been stanning txt for 4 months now. I was there even before txt debuted. but as a casual fan!! up till 4 months ago! I'm proud to say that I'm now a Moa! I love txt sm I'm honestly whipped for sookai. hyuka owns my entire heart like I'm not even Kidding. anw pls enjoy! I think you will be seeing me more e ee on sookai tag hehe uwu
> 
> didn't proofread cuz I'm lazy >3<
> 
> english isn't my first language btw so pls don't mind the grammar mistakes :c
> 
> Jeonha - King  
> Wangseja - Crown Prince

_“hey, what do you think of soulmates?”_

_“i think it's beautiful. don't you think so too?”_

_“yeah. it's beautiful. you're beautiful.”_

_“I'm glad the universe chose you as my soulmate.”_

_“even if we weren't soulmates, I believe I'd still fall for you.”_

—

Huening Kai believed in a lot of things, and soulmates were one of them.

as far as he could remember, he'd always believed in soulmates. to him, the whole soulmate thing was just so beautiful. just at the thought of having someone that was made for him to love, to cherish and to be loved by them in return, made him feel at ease.

the Red String of Fate was his favourite.

he sometimes would stare at his pinky, imagining a red thin thread, circled around his long and slender finger, that connected him and his soulmate. he had been dreaming to have a soulmate of his own, but a small part of him thought it was impossible because no one had believed in soulmates like he did.

especially not in this century.

but it was rumored that years ago, the whole soulmate thing had actually existed. in a century where; the universe had played the role of pairing everyone up, where people had also lived with the sole purpose of finding their other halves.

no one knew whether it was real or not.

but kai?

kai chose to believe.

—

it started when huening kai dreamt about a prince and a king who ruled over a peaceful kingdom. it was blurry and fuzzy, but kai didn't mind it one bit. he thought it was just one of the ridiculous and bizarre dreams he'd always seem to have. just like that one dream where he ran away from sickly and scary looking zombies.

or that one where he got swallowed by a giant flower. so yeah, kai had decided to just forget about it (he wasn't the type that can recall dreams clearly anyway. once he forgets, he forgets). and plus, it wasn't that important anyway.

(or at least, that's what he thought.)

and that's what he would tell himself over and over again everytime he had a dream about the Prince and the King.

each dream was different, but kai had a feeling it was still the same. even though kai was the type to forget dreams easily, he knew that it was still the same prince, the same king, the same palace and the same kingdom. he just _knew._

a month and a half after the first dream, kai had found out— or in his case, realized— what was happening to him.

but he had decided to just brush it off.

—

he crinkled his nose when he stepped into the library. it was cold in there. in contrast to the heat that came from the sun outside the room. kai looked around, searching for his friends and when he laid his eyes upon taehyun's head at the corner of the library, he started to make his way towards them.

“thought you weren't coming?” his friend asked as soon as kai sat down on the empty chair beside his other best friend, yeonjun, who was trying to eat his burger secretly and quietly (he didn't want to get kicked out by the librarian. thank you very much). kai rolled his eyes. as expected from choi yeonjun, who eats the most in their small circle of friends.

“why? just realized that you failed your chem test and decided to study with us?” beomgyu, who sat across him, said smugly as he tucked his ball pen behind his ear. he had stopped jotting down notes on his notebook when kai arrived.

“change plans, I guess.” kai responded, smiling sheepishly at taehyun, “and beomgyu hyung, i passed my chem test okay. shut up.”

“you mean, _barely_ passed—”

“—and still got good marks. while you didn't. so who's the winner here huh?” kai grinned, his eyes glinted teasingly. beomgyu huffed and rolled his eyes in response, muttering _‘brat’_ under his breath. kai cackled quietly. then silence fell upon them.

“wake me up when lunch's over.” kai blinked his eyes tiredly before laying his head down on his folded arms that he placed on the table.

taehyun raised his eyebrow. “are you okay, hyuka?”

kai nodded his head. “just tired. need a nap. wake me up, okay?”

the last thing kai heard was the distance _‘ofcourse’_ from his yeonjun hyung before sleep quickly pulled him in.

—

autumn, 1865.

“Jeonha, I wish to speak to you regarding my wish to go on adventures.”

like in the other dreams, kai was the prince. he had always been the prince. he viewed the world in the prince's eyes.

the crown prince bowed his head before looking up, staring at his father in the eye. the King, clothed in gonryongpo— a red colored robe with large, round embroidered emblems of dragon sewn on it— gave a curt nod, but his eyes were warm with affection.

the prince took it as a cue to continue.

“i want to go out there, seeking adventures. so that I could be a King that my people can rely on. I want to show them my worth and want them to believe in me. I want to learn more, want to grow as a person. and most importantly, I want to make you proud, Jeonha. and i believe that going out there, learning and living alone, will make me a better person that I am today. I promise to return when it's time for my coronation day, Jeonha.”

the King nodded his head, a small warm smile curved upon his lips. “very well, Wangseja.” he reached out to pat the prince's shoulder. “i will grant your wish. be safe out there. I shall see you when you return.”

the prince bowed his head respectfully. “ I will move at down, Father. please stay healthy. I will definitely see you when I return.”

giving a one last smile that held so many meanings, the King spoke.

“you've grown up so well. I'm proud of you.”

—

kai woke up (just in time) from his nap to his friends packing up their books and bags— and yeonjun, licking his finger with a content smile spread over his face— indicating that the lunch break was over.

and oddly enough, he had also woken up with a small... warm feeling bloomed in his heart.

it's not like he didn't expect what would happen in the dream. he _knew_ , even before he went to sleep. kai knew the prince was going to talk to his dad, he knew the King was going to accept his wish to go out there, alone, with no royal guards or assistants. he knew the prince were planning to start his move at ass o'clock. he'd even expected the last words the King had told the prince. 

but what he didn't expect was, the feeling of happiness and proudness he had felt when he woke up from his nap just after hearing the King's last words.

it was as if the King was speaking to him, not to his son. but kai knew better than that. it was for the prince. he just didn't know why it somehow touched his heart. and he felt so.. proud for making the King proud of his own son, the Crown Prince ( _that's right dumbass_ , kai thought to himself. he was proud of the crown prince, not _you_ ).

kai had found this extremely strange and confusing.

_“you've grown up so well. I'm proud of you.”_

and once again, kai decided to just shrug it off before standing up and headed to his calculus class.

—

it actually started a few months ago when kai found an old book— which, soon he found out, was an old diary— belonged to a prince with the name Jung Taejin from centuries ago.

it wasn't a surprise that kai's room was a mess. because look; kai, first of all, was a guy. second of all, he was a teenager. and lastly, he was a nineteen year old _teenager_. most of boys his age haven't learned how to clean their own rooms. and especially now that he was living on his own— well _not really_ , he had a roommate— in a dorm; far from his home, far from his mother. his roommate, park jisung— a bio major, wasn't any better.

so yeah, it wasn't a surprise.

the exam session for the semester had had just ended. his mother, who knew all of his uni schedules, gave him a call a week prior to his last paper (kai didn't know how and where did his mother got his schedules from, but he was not surprised, to say the least. it was nothing new. she's had become overprotective over the youngest and the only son in their family ever since he entered university).

(“mum, I'm a grownass adult. please let me be—”

“y'all hear sumn?” 

“oh god, _please_ stop spending your time on twitter! you're starting to speak like us, the teenagers—”)

his mother had asked him to come home this holiday to go on a family vacation. apparently, his sister wanted to visit their grandparents in Hawaii. Kai was supposed to go on a road trip with his hyungs— yeonjun, soobin, taehyun and beomgyu, to relieve stress from all those all nighters they had to pull to study for their papers.

but then kai remembered that it had been awhile since he last visited home and he was so sure that his mother missed him terribly. so with a small grin, he had told his mother over the phone that he would come home. her cheerful and happy _‘ill see you soon, my baby. we will pick you up!’_ was enough to make him bark a fond laugh.

the day before he went home, he had decided to clean up his messy room. his friends had just started their road trip that morning, and his roommate had gone home on the same day.

so kai was all alone in the room.

he was busy tidying his desk and books when something fell from his small bookcase.

“huh?” kai muttered to himself, leaning down to pick up the fallen book. “the heck is this?”

the book (kai wasn't even sure if he could call it a book, it looked like it was just a stake of papers being put on top of another.) seemed to be about a few years old; the pages were all brown and yellow-ish and it felt like it wasn't a normal paper. there was nothing written in (what supposed to be) the cover, so kai flipped it open.

_spring of 1856_

“woah woah. hold _on_. 1856?” kai blinked. kai knew the book was old but he didn't know it was _this_ old. he scanned the page quickly before closing it. he didn't read everything but he read enough to know that the book was a journal. an _old_ journal.

kai thought for a moment. he would never want to read someone's journal or diary. it's a private stuff. no one should be reading nor peeking.

but this journal was.. _old_. really old. kai was pretty sure the owner had died. so it should be okay... right? 

“or nah?” kai hesitated. he took a deep breath. _gods up there, please forgive me for I'm about to do something stupid._

he flipped it open.

_I have turned nine today. father was doing work, as per usual. but I still had fun with my friends; the guards and the maids. for the very first time in my life, I was allowed to go out and play in the garden! never knew our garden is really beautiful! I want to build a house and live there. father should let me go outside often! oh and, the chef made my favourite food. I ate everything with pumpkin juice!_

_I hope on my next birthday I can go outside and meet kids my age so I could play with them! it would be so fun._

kai blinked repeatedly.

_what in the freaking world?_

kai looked at the old book suspiciously. okay listen, what if this was just a prank that beomgyu pulled because kai ditched them and the road trip on the last minute? because there was absolutely zero chances that a diary of a nine year old child, who apparently was from the nineteenth century, was in the hands of kai kamal huening who lived in the twenty-first century.

so nope. impossible.

(and how did it end up in his room anyway? kai will never know.)

kai threw the journal on his desk and quickly cleaned himself up before calling it a day. he needed to wake up early tomorrow anyway.

that night, kai had a dream about birthdays, maids, pumpkin juice and a colourful garden.

—

it was when he was deep into the journal when he realized something.

the stories written in the journal.

the dreams.

all of them were the same.

he had also noticed the pattern. whenever he read a page from the journal, he would dream about it later on when he went to sleep or nap.

kai had wondered if he was reading into it too much to the point he would dream about it. but kai knew that wasn't the case since he didn't read the journal every single day. he was a busy university student, ok? ok.

kai scratched his head.

well. this is more weirder than that time his yeonjun hyung claimed he was a fox in his previous life.


	2. the boy in his dream.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> confused kai is in Confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> didn't proofread. WOOOP enjoy!

kai cracked his knuckles and stretched his long and thin arms as he yawned. he's been sitting on his desk for two hours straight now, finishing his history essay. he took a glance at the digital clock on his phone.

**11:45PM.**

“huh. didn't realize it was that late.” he mumbled to himself. he emptied his bottle of grape juice before putting his books away and shutting down his laptop. his phone then lit up, indicating that he got a new message. a grin broke out when he saw who had just texted him.

**terrible >3< **

ningning, u done? 

have u eaten

if u haven't wanna go out and eat?

**hueningie**

hyungghg (づ￣ ³￣)づ

I haven't (´;︵;`)

sure sure let's go!! :D

**terrible >3< **

psh those faces hurt my eyes

I'll pick you up then 

see u in five min

**hueningie**

shut up u giant hag

they're cute

unlike u

(ヘ･_･)ヘ┳━┳

twenty minutes later, soobin and kai were sitting at one of the tables in a 24 hour convenience store where the five of them often hangout after their classes end. it was late, so not many people were around. kai pulled his jacket impossibly closer to his body, warming his body up from the cool night autumn air that had attacked them when they walked here. 

“you should've wore the black one. that one is thicker than the one you're wearing right now.” soobin scolded him lightly when he saw the grimace on the younger's face. 

“i left it in your room remember!” kai whined. 

soobin rolled his eyes before taking his jacket off and wrapped it around kai, leaving him in a soft purple sweater. ”here. I'm not that cold anyway.”

kai pouted. he'd tried to hide it but of course soobin noticed he was feeling cold. because— well. he's choi soobin. 

choi soobin would _always_ notice everything. 

kai once thought maybe he was just easy to read but beomgyu had told him that kai was the type that hide everything well. although kai may seemed like he was very open, he was actually really secretive about himself. kai never talked about his feelings, how he's been feeling, his discomfort, his problems. kai prefers to keep it to himself. he would rather bottle everything up than telling anyone— including his long time friends— and be a burden.

whenever he was having a hard time or in a slump, no one would notice because he'd hide it pretty well.

no one, except choi soobin.

“here. eat up.” 

soobin put a steaming hot ramen infront of kai, giving him a pair of chopstick before giving all his attention to his own ramen. kai stared at the older, lost in thought.

as far as kai could remember, soobin had always been important to him. the most, if you may. they've been friends for years. ever since a thirteen year old kai's family moved beside his fifteen year old soobin hyung's house. and when kai first met him, he felt an instant connection.

befriending soobin was one of the greatest decisions he had ever made. because he didn't just gain one friend, he had also gained three; choi beomgyu, choi yeonjun and kang taehyun. kai treasured them a lot; he grew up with these people, went through his puberty with them, they were there when he went to his first real party when he and taehyun were still seniors, drank his first shot of alcohol with all his hyungs— even his soobin hyung, who doesn't like to go out, and parties— hollering and cheering in front of him. 

and even after all these years, they were still really close with each other. kai couldn't ask for better friends. 

he loved each of them dearly. as a brother, as a friend.

well, maybe except for soobin (again).

because kai harbored romantic feelings for him.

kai didn't know when did he exactly fall for his best friend. it could be that time when sixteen year old soobin had sacrificed his sleep just to take kai to a park in the middle of the night to comfort the younger because kai had been isolating himself and feeling down due to the divorce his parents had went through that time.

or maybe it was when soobin held a sad and distress kai in his arms and told him that _it was okay to open up to him_ and _to reach out to him, or anyone, if he was having a hard time._

or perhaps; when kai and soobin were cuddling on a couch during one of their weekly movie nights as soobin tried to calm the crying kai down in his arms, murmuring sweet nothings (more like insulting, calling him a big baby for crying over a movie.) with a teasing smile on his pouty lips. while he was being surrounded with blankets, pillows and most importantly, in soobin's arms, kai could feel his heart skip a beat.

kai didn't know when.

the only thing he knew was: he was in the back seat of yeonjun's car on a summer night when he'd realized his own feelings. 

they had went out to celebrate yeonjun and soobin getting into university. the car's windows were opened, yeonjun was blasting the music, bopping his head excitedly, taehyun, who was poking his head out the window and singing along, beomgyu was screaming the lyrics and moving his body as much as he could on the limited space. and then there was soobin, who meant the world to kai, drumming his thighs in the shotgun seat. 

and laughing— he was _laughing_. kai's smile had softened up. 

as if he could sense the younger's eyes on him, soobin looked back and locked eyes with kai. the older then shot him the biggest, warmest and happiest grin, his dimples were showing and kai could see the genuine happiness in his hyung's eyes.

_beautiful._

kai was staring at soobin in awe when he felt a familiar tug at his heart. 

_beautiful._

_beautiful._

_beautiful._

and then it hit him like a train. 

his breath hitched because— _fuck_ , he was in love with his own best friend.

kai kamal huening was seventeen when he realized he had feelings for his long-time friend.

—

_autumn of 1865._

_as expected, the life outside the palace is so much more fun. it's so loud. I get to meet and talk to people. I have no regrets leaving the palace for awhile. it has been a month. I hope father is well._

_something strange happened today. there was this commoner who i met. his name was Mansik and I instantly felt a connection when we locked eyes._

_it can't be, right?_

_I've been told by father everything about it. even my scholars told me the things I needed to know._

_and yet i can't figure this out._

_but it can't be, right?_

_it's impossible._

—

autumn, 1865.

the prince tugged at his horse's collar, his other hand was rubbing on the side of its face, as they walked around, looking for a place to rest for a bit before he would start moving to a different place.

the prince perked up when he found a place that seemed unoccupied. 

“come on. just a bit more.” kai gently tugged at its' collar again, guiding the horse to the resting place. once he got to the hanok, he sat down on the wooden floor, keeping his feet on the ground as he pet the horse's face, cooing with delight before he was startled by something.

“you have such a beautiful horse.”

_wait— this voice—_

he quickly turned his head around and saw a boy that was clothed in a simple green robe, sitting on the wooden floor, with his knees tucked neatly under his chin. based from the color alone, kai knew he was a commoner. but what shocked him the most was the face of the boy.

kai felt a pull at his heart when they locked eyes. it was quick but intense. his breath hitched.

_what? what was happening? what was he doing here in his dream?_

now it wasn't the first time he had a dream about his friend. it was just surprising to kai that he was in _this_ dream. he wanted to open his mouth and call out his name, asking what was he doing in this place, in kai's dream.

but the only thing that came out from his mouth was: “i'm sorry. i thought it was empty.”

the boy smiled at kai. “it is fine, Wangseja. there's no need to apologize.”

kai furrowed his eyebrows. how did he know he was a prince? as far as kai knew, the King hadn't shown his son's face to the people yet. not until the coronation day. his father was very protective over him.

he wasn't even wearing his usual dark blue _gonryongpo_ that he had to wear as a crown prince. he was clothed in the royal guard's uniform. so how did he know he was a prince?

“what is your name?” 

_hyung, how did you know?_ was what he wanted to ask.

his hyung fixed his position. now he was kneeling, with both of his hands on each of his knee and bowed his head respectfully “i'm choi manshik, Wangseja, a Commoner.”

“how did you know I'm a prince?” the crown prince asked him. 

his friend blushed, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. “oh. my mother. she works for you. sometimes i go to the palace to visit my mother in her chamber. that's how I found out you were the crown prince.”

kai smiled. even in his dream, his hyung managed to be as adorable as he was in real life. “it is fine. just don't call me Wangseja. someone might hear you, manshik.”

he nodded his head, apologising to kai once again. “i shall go now. I have some work to do. it was nice meeting you.” 

“it was nice meeting you too. see you around, choi manshik.”

—

when kai opened his eyes, he quickly sat up on his bed and stared at nothing, calming down his heart and replying his dream over and over again in his head.

what the _fuck_ ?

why did his choi soobin hyung appear in one of those dreams?

and most importantly, _why was he choi manshik_ ?

“what,” kai said it out loud this time.“the fuck did just happen?”

“yo. are you just gonna stare at the wall and say what all day or are you going to get ready for class? because dude, you're late to your morning class.” his roommate, jisung, chirped in from his bed.

and kai cursed loudly.


	3. the stars in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAH I'm sorry it took me more than 2 weeks!! I was busy but I'm here now >3< I have to stay home everyday now due to the corona lockdown. ;-; stay safe everyone! always wash your hands!

it's safe to say that kai couldn't stop thinking about the dream he had. a week had passed since then. kai was too busy with his social life and school work to sit down and read a new page from the journal. 

he'd wondered if he was just thinking too much and made a big deal out of it. people sometimes dream about their crushes. even kai had a fair share of his own. it was nothing new. but when he thought about it again, it was the first time someone who he personally knew appeared in one of those dreams. kai had tried to find a reason for it, but it was too absurd, to say the very least. 

and of all people, why was he choi manshik?

remembering the page he last read a week ago, choi manshik was... _something_. he must have meant something. kai had a feeling he wasn't just another commoner or another random person the prince had came across. ever since the prince left the palace, he had met and interacted with his people. but from what kai read so far, the prince had never mentioned names in the journal, he would always just call them his people. 

and most importantly, what was the connection thing that the prince had talked about in his journal? 

kai bit his lip when another thought come across his mind. could it be..

“you've been spacing out lately.” a voice snapped him out of his thoughts. kai frowned. there he was again, thinking about the dream. he had almost forgotten he was in class. 

of course that wasn't the first time he'd heard it this week. soobin had mentioned it once or twice. in which he had to make up some shitty excuses on the spot. there's no way in hell he would tell his own crush that he had a dream about him.

and of course soobin knew he was lying. but thank god, he didn't pry and decided to just leave him alone.

“yeah. just thoughts, you know.” kai shrugged and waved him off. taehyun, who was sitting next to him, tapped his pen against his notebook.

“what's up?” 

“just thinking about what to get for noona's birthday present.” kai smoothly lied. taehyun looked over at the younger a bit longer before giving his attention back to the lecturer. he knew the younger male was lying— his sister's birthday had passed. it was four months ago. but taehyun still chose to keep his mouth shut.

taehyun knows how kai is. despite both of them had been friends for years now, and were the only same-age friends in their friend group, the black haired male had yet to fully open up to him. he would just brush it off and say he was fine. and taehyun would just let it be because; one, in the next few seconds, kai would be back to his loud and annoying self; and two, taehyun could always count on soobin to check up on kai.

it's not like taehyun didn't care about his same-age friend— he does, but he knew that the taller prefers soobin over him or any of their other friends. 

so it's no use to ask. but, taehyun would still try.

———

_Winter of 1865._

_I miss the palace._

_I don't know how many times the moon and the sun have passed since I left home. winter has come, finally. I touched the snow for the very first time since I was brought into this world. I am so happy that I could finally experience winter. although it is cold, I still think today is one of the best days in my life. the snows are so beautiful. but I regret not packing enough. it was really cold when I woke up from my deep slumber this morning._

_And Choi Manshik.._

_He came to the same hanok we met yesterday. I don't know how he found me but he was kind enough to lend me his black robe. Apparently, yesterday he had noticed that my simple robes were kind of thin. he was observant. bless him._

_But something odd has happened. There was it again. the tug at my heart. It was the same tug when we first met. and it seems like it only happens whenever our eyes met._

_Could he really be my....?_

_I don't know. I am honestly confused. it could have been coincidence. unexpected things happen all the time. it was only our second time meeting each other after all. but I think I need to pay Sejoon a visit soon._

_Nevertheless, today was meaningful._

_Thank you once again, Choi Manshik. For I could sleep better in this cold weather. Bless you for your kind soul._

———

winter, 1865.

“..Wangseja?” 

the prince turned his head to the sound of someone calling him by his royal title and found the commoner boy who he had just met yesterday.

_choi manshik._

he was standing there with a shy smile adorning his pouty lips. it's the kind of smile that makes his dimples appear extra soft. the top of his head was covered in snows— it seemed like he was outside for quite some time now.

_is he really his soobin hyung_ , kai thought to himself. his soobin hyung with a different name.

“hello manshik, what did I tell you about calling me Wangseja?” said the crown prince. there was a noticeable gentle tease in his voice.

manshik let out a soft laugh, smiling sheepishly afterwards. “I'm sorry. I don't know what to call you, your highness.”

kai felt his lips stretched into a small grin. “jung taejin. just taejin is fine.” 

the commoner nodded his head before grinning mischievously, his eyes glinted teasingly. “okay just taejin.” 

the crown prince let out a chuckle. well, he didn't see that coming. but it was refreshing to see someone acts like that towards him— teasing him back in a playful way. it felt nice.

“did you need something, mansik?” he finally asked. kai didn't miss the pink tint that bloomed on the other's pale cheeks. his lips now sported a shy smile as he held out a perfectly folded black robe. 

“just wanted to give you this. I've noticed you only have the royal guard uniform and simple robes that I know are only worn by the workers in your palace. when the first snow fell this morning, I immediately thought of you and decided to prepare you this incase you get cold during this season. as you may know, i'm a commoner... so it's not much, your highness. my robe is nothing compare to the ones you have in the palace but I hope it will help.” manshik said as he looked down, not wanting to embarrass himself further by looking at the crown prince in the eye.

kai's eyes softened up. dream-soobin was so similar to his soobin hyung. it was endearing to see him helping a person who he had just met yesterday. the prince held his hand out, silently urging him to pass the black robe to him. manshik sighed a breath of relief before taking small and careful steps towards the younger, who was sitting down on the wooden floor. he bowed his head briefly before putting down his robe next to the prince. kai could only watch him quietly.

time seemed to freeze the moment mansik looked up and locked eyes with kai. he was so close, kai could count his long eyelashes if he wanted to. and his eyes— something felt familiar but the younger couldn't pinpoint why. 

there was a familiar warmth inside his dark brown eyes. the warmth that kai could only see and get when he would stare deeply at soobin's deep brown eyes. and kai swore he could see the same stars he'd found dancing in soobin's eyes, twinkling in the commoner's eyes. and then—

his breath hitched.

something pulled at his heartstrings, tugging at it repeatedly as if it was telling him to follow its lead. and suddenly, it was that one summer night all over again, when kai and soobin met eyes. only this time, kai was staring into manshik's bottomless eyes. and he couldn't escape from them. 

for a moment, kai felt comforted.

“lovely.” 

“w-what.” kai breathed out, not expecting mansik to open his mouth. the said boy's eyes widened.

“i-i'm sorry, Wangseja.” manshik clumsily apologised with blushing cheeks, laughing awkwardly. “I didn't mean to say that— I just— your eyes— they are..” he trailed off, turning his head away. the younger kept his mouth shut, waiting for manshik to finish his sentence. “..they are lovely.” he continued quietly. too quiet kai almost didn't catch it.

but he did. 

kai's cheeks grew warm— which he didn't think was possible, since it was just a dream. but then again, he was the prince in the dreams. he could feel what the prince felt.— he honestly did not see that coming. kai cleared his throat awkwardly, his heart skipped a beat. “t-thank you.”

manshik just gave him a timid nod, fidgeting with his fingers as a pregnant of silence fell upon them.

“—hyung!” 

a high pitched voice broke through the quiet air. manshik jumped a bit before turning around— clumsily, kai might add— not forgetting to shoot the prince a small smile. “hurry up! father was looking for you!”

that's when kai decided to stop staring at the back of mansik's head and looked over at the newcomer who was standing not far from where manshik stood. the last thing he expected when he took a peek at the new boy was to find a very familiar face kai knew all too well. 

small face, sharp jawline, and a perfect chin.

_... beomgyu hyung?_

manshik let out a sigh, nodding his head, silently urging beomgyu (was his name even beomgyu?) to leave. dream-beomgyu rolled his eyes and pouted before he did as he told. the tall boy then turned around and bowed his head with an apologetic smile on his lips.

“My apologize. that was my younger sibling. I have to go now, taejin. have a good day. please stay safe. I hope you wont get sick.”

and then manshik left.

and when kai woke up that morning to his roommate blasting to some old punk music in their shared bathroom, he was left with more questions than answers.

_first soobin hyung, now it's beomgyu hyung? what's happening._

———

“where are you where are you where are you—” kai muttered to himself as he flipped through the thick book he'd found in the library. it was his free period and he was sitting at a table with yeonjun. even though the elder was two years his senior, yeonjun and kai had always seem to have the same free periods.

“what are you doing hueningie?” yeonjun furrowed his eyebrows as he watched kai from over his place. unlike kai, there were a notebook and papers scattered in front of yeonjun with his mackbook opened. kai remembered yeonjun telling him about his essays that he had put on hold when he texted the elder earlier after his class ended, asking him his whereabouts.

“just looking for something.” kai answered distractedly. the answer wasn't enough for the older male. yeonjun decided to lean over and took a peek.

“ _History of the Joseon dynasty_ ?” yeonjun repeated out loud. kai just hummed, simply waving him off. “what are you doing with this kind of book— wait no. actually, _what_ are you looking for?” 

“someone.” the younger responded, flipping another page. “a crown prince, to be exact.”

had he looked up from the book, kai wouldn't have missed the way the blue haired man froze for a bit in his chair after the younger muttered those words. 

“who?” yeonjun asked again, in a low voice. it was strange to him, but the younger male paid him no mind. he had a crown prince to find.

“jung taejin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> corona is ruining my plans. I sWEAR
> 
> edited: I forgot to mention In My Blood cover OH MY GOD???? HYUKA VOCALS??????? IM SCREAMING. I AM JN LOVE. AND SOOBIN'S PERFECT ENGLISH AND BEOMHYUS DEEP VOICE TAEHYUNS HIGHNOTESSK AND YEONJUN???? PERFECTION KDKDDK

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so excited for this! come follow my twitter, my twt handle is @/ROLLERKAISTER my hyukapie acc got s worded (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ


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